Review: Samsung's X460 Notebook Not The Work Of A Newbie

Samsung has spent the better part of the last decade sitting out of the U.S. notebook market, after getting burned by a previous investment in the now-defunct AST. After taking a good look at its X460 notebook, three words come clearly to mind: They were missed.

Samsung is coming to market now with a full arsenal of notebooks, from business-value to high-end performance. The X460, you could suppose, sits in the middle of that lineup with potential to appeal to a great swath of the market. The Test Center had the chance to examine the X460 from head to toe. There are so many terrific aspects to this notebook, it's hard to know where to start.

The base unit we looked at was built with an Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU at 2.26 GHz, with 3 GB of RAM and Windows Vista Business. The 300-GB hard drive was among the highest-capacity we've seen in a business notebook this year, and its 14.1-inch, glossy LCD was bright and easy to view. The system weighed in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces and at its thinnest point it's less than an inch. That makes it easy to carry around; it doesn't feel like you're lugging anything heavy.

Samsung has built the case in a two-tone, black and burgundy hue that does set it apart from other notebooks we've looked at this year -- at least from an aesthetic standpoint.

Using Primate Labs' Geekbench 2 benchmarking tool, the X460 rang up a score of 2573 -- on par with other notebooks in its class that we've looked at this year, if not a little higher-performing than average. Using the Test Center's standard battery test for notebooks, which is to turn off all power-saving utilities and run a video from the hard drive until the system shuts down, the X460 ran for a nice, solid 3 hours and 45 minutes. That puts it at one of the longer-lasting battery configurations we've looked at in the Test Center lab this year and would get very close to all-day battery life for standard office use.

At its vents, the X460 threw about 90 degrees of heat after a couple of hours of running. Its integrated Webcam is a nice addition, although it produced quality that gave one the appearance of videoconferencing from the Space Station. While we've seen better integrated Webcams this year, it's fine in the X460.

All in all, the X460 is a competitive, name-brand piece of technology from a company that has shown staying power in the U.S. market. With a list starting price of $1,599 (but street pricing on higher configurations in the $1,698 ballpark), it's not a low-end retail play.

Samsung's return to the U.S. notebook market throws another match onto what was already a hotbed of competition. The company, which maintained an overseas business in the notebook segment, is clearly not a newbie when it comes to producing mobile PCs; the X460 is the work, clearly, of a seasoned pro.

For solution providers in the U.S. channel, it's one more vendor that doesn't sell direct that provides them a decent option. For their customers, it provides a classy-looking, decent-performing system that goes the distance.

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